What are some quality long lasting tableware makes?

I've noticed that recently bought dishes have been chipping and I know about fiestaware
but a little hesitant to use it because of safety concerns.

Are there other vintage quality dishes to look for as far as daily use?

Is it true that inexpensive china is more long lasting?

 

I use Blue Willow very old to vintage. All of it goes into the dishwasher except my oldest pieces . The newer pieces withstand chipping well. I also love my white iron stone which i use along my blue willow .

 

I do think most quality (antique) table ware is hard backed, chipping quick. Softer probably will last longer. Although hard probably worns less?
Eventually usage in time allways will bring ware, chips and cracks. Can't avoid that.
The reason "grandma only used it on special days".

Just told in another topic i started to use unwanted wedgewood. Realizing it was the beginning off loss eventually. Chipped already.

My advice. Calculate that, loss.

 

Tupperware... just kidding.

 

Yes, I noticed with mugs that stoneware is the best. A lot of modern coffee/tea mugs made today chip very easily, probably planned obsolescence.

 

Some patterns continue forever - Blue Willow being a case in point - and made by who knows how many different companies. One consideration might be how easy it is to find replacement pieces.

The first pattern I remember from my childhood was by Adams and called "Minuet". I've only come across a couple pieces at thrifts and the like.


The second pattern, which continued forever with my parents, was "Friendly Village" by Johnson Bros. It was in production for a long time (may still be) and shows up quite frequently at g-sales and thrifts.


These are bone china, and the earlier pieces are definitely more robust than those made later.

If you can find a pattern you like, I'd suggest aiming for stuff from the '60s and '70s, before the imposition of modern production "efficiencies".

You also have to be aware that old patterns are frequently not dishwasher safe and have to be hand washed. That's true of the ones above. Doing that anyhow might spare some damage.

Serving pieces - vegetable bowls and the like - are always the most difficult to find.

 

my daily use dinnerware is from the Noritake Progression line. It hasn't chipped and is oven and microwave safe. It's been run thru the dishwasher for nearly 50 years now (since early 1975 I think); there is obvious wear on the graphics on the most used pieces over the years from daily washing (but that's to be expected). I expect it will withstand the remainder of my years... and yes, I'm sure the Flower Time motif dates me but I'm okay with that...

 

In the USA Desert Rose by Franciscan has been in production since forever. So is Pfaltzgraff's Yorktown pattern. The latter is heavy stoneware and after 90 years or so of production there's a lot of it about. Not the prettiest stuff, but easily found. I'd personally opt for old "diner" china, pottery made for commercial service. It's tough as nails. Or Corelle - Corning glassworks, with the benefits of being both tough and cheap.

 

Denby. Built like a brick outhouse, tough as old rope.

 

I recently read that older Corelle contains lead and should be used for display only. My dinnerware for the last 40 yrs has been Pfaltzgraff MAFA - America - sturdy and heavy and doesn't chip easily. I don't have a dishwasher and never put it in the microwave. My kids hate it and every time they visit, tell me I should replace it, but I'm not into new 'ikea' style things, plus I'm frugal and don't see the need to replace perfectly good items.

 

The ones with paint everwhere in older designs can be a problem. The white pieces are fine, even the old ones.

 

I was lucky and my grandmother gave me a choice of 3 settings she had when I got my first place. I picked a simple white set that may be stoneware. I would have to check. It did chip easily. I hardly have used it. Not sure it would work in the microwave and at this stage of my life, I am not giving dinner parties or wanting to work harder than I have to with no dishwasher.

I like fiesta ware in some colors, but it gets knife marks really easy and it also can dull and get chipped. I have a mug here that is chipped and the only reason I keep it is because it helps me id that color for future reference. I gave so many place settings of Fiesta new and post 86 to my idiot super last Christmas. Gave me more shelf space and I no longer wanted to sell it.

When I was a kid we had Melmac in a blue color. I never remember that chipping at all. I think it got burnt a bit at times. But my parents discarded it when we moved to LI except for a few pieces. It did scratch and show signs of use.

 

My daughter went with Corelle. She has limited cabinet space and two kids that are responsible for putting away the dishes. I was surprised at the wonderful patterns available today. Most of my blue willow is mircowave and dishwasher proof. I inherited enough to set a table for 50! My mom loved blue and white and just kept buying it at all the auctions and sales. Serving dishes are plentiful. Not much market for it these days at least around here. I need to reduce my stock.

 

Blue Willow has been made by somebody, somewhere, constantly since the 1790s. Blue Danube/onion goes back even further. Neither is a hot seller any more, but if you don't insist on a exact match you can find a boatload of pieces.

 

My mama's best china was plain white bone with a gold rim for jsut that reason.

 

As in use anything to go with, and it'll match. Lots of folks did that for a while. Plain china with accessory pieces from any pattern going. It works.